Immigration reform is a numbers game. And one of those numbers is $680—the price of applying for naturalization, the process that turns green card-holders into citizens. Politicians like Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel are decrying that number, saying the cost is too high. Non-profits, encouraging the country’s 8.5 million permanent residents to go down that path, are subsidizing that fee. So where does that total come from, and where does the money go?

The money goes into the coffers of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, a part of the Department of Homeland Security that oversees lawful immigration to the U.S. The total of $680 comes from a $595 application fee and a $85 “biometric fee” that is funneled toward background-check costs like fingerprinting. Applicants have to pay the $680 regardless of whether their application is successful—and sometimes it isn’t. In April, about 65,000 immigrants swore their oaths after being approved by the USCIS, while about 8,000 applications were denied.

The fee is both a practical and political issue. Practically, while many government agencies get cash through appropriations of taxpayer funds, the USCIS is primarily a “fee-based” agency. Today, a DHS official says, more than 90% of USCIS operating costs are covered by fees, so an immigrant paying the $680 can expect that moola to be spent on things like the salary of the employee adjudicating their case or the computer software that employee is using to crunch numbers. Fees like this also include a surcharge to help cover services that the USCIS provides for free, like naturalizing members of the military.

Politically, those who oppose fee hikes typically say that the cost discourages legal immigrants from becoming full-fledged citizens. In a 2012 Pew survey, Latino permanent residents who had not yet applied for naturalization were asked why. The top reason, cited by 26%, was difficulty with the English language (there’s a test) and other personal barriers; financial and administrative barriers came in third, at 18%. Those who support higher fees are likely to argue that American citizens shouldn’t be footing the bill for processing immigrants’ applications. The USCIS says they simply need that money to run the shop. “We’re not in the business of making a profit,” says USCIS Press Secretary Chris Bentley. “We’re certainly not in the business of losing money either. We’re in the business of breaking even.”

The USCIS is supposed to do a fee study every two years and propose fee levels proportional to the costs they’re incurring; those fees then get set through federal rulemaking. In 1997, the fee for a naturalization application was $95, less than 15% of what it is today. The most recent jump came in 2007, when the USCIS proposed increasing the naturalization application fee about 85%, from $320 to the current rate. “We must be able to recover the costs necessary to administer an efficient and secure immigration system,” then-USCIS Director Emilio Gonzalez said at the time. One promise the USCIS made in 2007 was that with additional money, the average time it takes to process an application would drop from seven months to five months; today, the average turnaround time is just under six.

Groups like the New Americans Campaign are pushing for naturalization, arguing that it’s good for the people—as citizens, they are more likely to have higher incomes and become homeowners—and the economy, which benefits from the extra money those immigrants will spend. Though the NAC doesn’t pay fees, they do donate legal counsel so that poor green card-holders can apply for waivers. Eric Cohen, who helps run the campaign, says those waivers are easy to get if the applicant is clearly in poverty. “We realize that when fees stay the same, when they go up … that has an impact on people’s lives,” USCIS’s Bentley says. “We don’t want the fee to be a hindrance.”

If you have a job/income and all of it goes to food/rent etc, you probably will make too much to qualify for that exemption. ( PS I know you are a troll and dont care about any answers, this is for the benefit of any other readers)

@aussiebach God bless America. Freedom of speech etc. I can not wait for the Tea Party to take over so they can tighten up immigration's belt. The Tea Party hates the fact that Obama is handing the country over to the immigrants, illegals etc. I can see why. .. And you hate him for? I love to see idiots biting the hand that feeds them. I am voting Republican next time around. See you! Wouldn't want to be you!

To
me, the fact that the government agency processing citizenship (and
permanent residency) applications has to fund itself from fees and does
not get money from the, well, government, to operate is proof of an
anti-immigrant attitude. The fees for permanent residency are more than
twice as high as those for citizenship and the vast majority of people
getting it have been taxpayers for many years (meaning, they have been supporting the functioning of the US government). Their taxes should be
sufficient for this and fees should be similar to those for other
government services.

@Gitiac You missed understood the article because you are comparing apples to oranges.

$680 is the last fee in a long line of fees. It's after you have a permanent green card - just before you get citizenship - that final hurdle is $680.

If you want to talk about the whole process - that depends upon the process and the person, I've seen people spend up to $10,000. My wife and daughter are from Ukraine, we've spent about 3 or 4 thousand dollars so far.

Also, to the point of the comments of $2500 - 10,000...I'm sure that is including legal counsel which is not a requirement. Although many go with an attorney it is not required and it is very expensive.

Please, it was going to cost me nearly that to go study for a year in Australia on visas. Not to sound crass, if people can't come up with $680 to apply for citizenship, likely one of the single most important decisions they will make, they probably aren't the people we should be approving for citizenship.

I have never understood why one department pays for another department's benefit. E.g. Why does USCIS offer free citizenship to US Military members? (I can understand why it should be free,but then the fee should be paid by US military for its deserving members)

I have also never understood why people do not understand difference between illegal and legal immigration.

I am okay with the fees being charged, as long as it is being spent reasonably and in most efficient way. Government's spending should be open to public scrutiny. I have heard so many incidents of people getting "notice in mail" even when they had "applied" to postpone their citizenship ceremony - it appears that USCIS can not perform basic scheduling tasks correctly.

Hi folks, I hope my comments are relevant to the discussion as I am a recently sworn in new American citizen after many years as a LEGAL green-card holding immigrant from Canada. I became an American citizen because I love this country, I am patriotic and proud of its history and heritage and yes, I dearly wanted the privilege of voting. Moreover, I felt a responsibility to become a citizen and put my money where my mouth is so to speak.

$680 is not a small amount the process is not particularly easy to complete but I consider that an honest investment in the commitment I made. At my swearing in ceremony there were 47 new citizens from 19 different countries and I can tell you that just based on my observation of some of those individuals and their attending family members not all were well off. I'm sure $680 was a big financial bite for them. The pride and joy on the faces of these people however was undeniable.

My only suggestion is this: I'm not overly concerned how much the fee is but I absolutely believe, based on my experience, that efficiencies in the process could dramatically reduce costs and improve the overall process. There is an unfortunate amount of waste and inefficiency that does not serve the American taxpayer well and a critical eye towards improvement could dramatically benefit USCIS.

Thank you and if you are a citizen...count yourself blessed and fortunate!

@savviecat63 I became an American citizen in 2010 and the ceremony was amazing. It was one of the proudest moments of my life. I too am Canadian by birth but American by choice. The whole process is much more expensive and time consuming, not to mention absolutely horrifyingly nerve wracking. We felt like I was being treated like a criminal the entire process. But we made it, I made it and I am proud to be an American.

I became a US citizen in 2009 after 22 LEGAL years in this country. I love this country, but wanted to wait until a non-crazy and non-stupid person became President before I made the commitment.

I don't think $680 is a huge amount of money, sorry. If one is committed, one will find the way. The USCIS staff here in SF were incredibly efficient and polite.

At my swearing in ceremony I sat next to a woman who was crying her eyes out throughout. Turns out she escaped from some backward dictatorial dump in Eastern Europe and waited decades to become a citizen. I don't think she regretted paying $680 to become a citizen. This is a priceless thing. Pretty sure she wasn't crying because she had to pay $680 :-)

@hmbguy Let me offer late congratulations on your citizenship. You did it the right way and did not cut in line.

You wrote: "I love this country, but wanted to wait until a non-crazy and non-stupid person became President before I made the commitment." In that one sentence you expose why the Dems are pushing so hard for amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants. Thanx for doing that.

I hope you support the current process rather than allowing others to cut ahead of those who, like you, waited their turn.

@fgoodwin@hmbguy Its a complex issue. On the one hand it seems like so many appear not to have bothered to follow the law. I was lucky. I had the right education, background, spoke English etc and knew enough to do the right thing.

On the other hand I know some illegals (children of illegals actually) for who this is a stigma their entire lives. One was a 40 year old German national who had been here since he was 5 years old. Obviously plenty from our southern neighbor as well.

I've read some of the 600 odd pages of the immigration reform bill. I generally support it. Happy to explain why.

Before naturalization you need to be a permanent resident for either 3 or 5 years. Here are a few of the forms you will need to become a permanent resident. I-130, I-797, I-485, etc... these alone will run around $3,000. I would know. I PAID THEM.

@hmbguy@savviecat63 I don't understand why you didn't sign up when REAGAN was president, or either of the BUSHes. Instead you sign up while that foreign citizen, h0m0, america hating o but head is potus? Huh??

There's really not much of a reason for a permanent resident (green card holder) to take the extra step to become a citizen. The only thing they can't do as a permanent resident is vote. If they don't care about voting, it's a bigger advantage to stay as a permanent resident--no citizenship/American history classes to take, they don't have to build their English fluency (which is very difficult as an adult), and they don't have to pay hundreds of hard-earned dollars.

@bemuuused I am now an American citizen but as a permanent resident then, I still paid the same taxes as any citizen. As a green card holder you are not allowed to vote and can't get a federal job. Other than that, everything else is the same.

@bemuuused But what if after being a permanent resident for a while and building my life and family here I feel a part of this country and want to be a proud citizen ? I feel there is a lot more intangibles to becoming a citizen than just getting the right to vote. Just my opinion though. One more tangible advantage ( depending on your country of origin ) is the ability to travel internationally with relative ease.

So in 2008, I was stuck in a car during a long ride in OC with a friend who is very Republican. We were having an intense political discussion, and I mentioned that I wasn't a US citizen, My friend paused, and then said that I should become a citizen. I was surprised: in an election, my vote would almost certainly cancel his.

His response was something to the effect of how I cared about the country. Even though my political views were 100% opposite his.

This was when I realized what an incredible country this is. Probably the biggest reason I became a US citizen. I also like the idea of having a stake in the society I live in. Otherwise whats the point of being in a democracy?

@sandpa@bemuuused Bingo! You have to be a naturalized citizen to get an American passport which allows you to travel freely through most of the world. I guess it does depend on what country you come from. For example, my wife is from Turkey and they are not part of the EU. So if we want to travel to somewhere in Europe she will need to either renew her Turkish passport or get a US passport. The funny thing is the $680 is cheaper than renewing her Turkish passport.

Unfortunately, the government and news agencies like to use the term immigration to talk about aliens. If your already an alien, the only way to become an immigrant again is to leave the US and then come here legally. Combining the two groups is nothing more than an attempt at confusing people on the issue. (and apparently it's working on a few of you)